A White Christmas
by The Labyrinths Scribe
Summary: An interior monologue from White, set 2 years after Season 2, of Christmas in TC. Pairing is M/A, M/W you'll see what I mean... Check it out if you like, maybe even if you don't just to see what all the fuss is about :


**A WHITE CHRISTMAS**

He was supposed to hate her. It was, supposedly, in his nature to do so. He was, in layman's terms, perfection, and she was a mutt of the lowest low. He didn't know exactly when the status quo began to change, but change it did. It was all her fault, of course. Ray had happily dived into the presents on Christmas morning, unable to contain his joy even though there weren't many under the tree. What a joke his life had become. He couldn't pinpoint when it had happened, the day he changed sides, because he was really only ever on one side, if he was being on honest with himself (and he rarely was).

Max had screwed everything up. When Manticore had gone down and he had found the brief case of Director Renfro, it had all been so clear, so simple. Capture her, torture her, experiment on her, and kill her. That had been the plan. A mantra that had danced around in his head since his eyes first fell on her picture, but that was when all he was looking at was her picture. His very thoughts changed the moment he arrived in the tent, with her pacing inside the cage. The look in her eyes, the sneer on her lips, the way she stood with her feet planted firmly on the ground and her hands on her hips as though saying 'Bring it, 'cause I'm not going anywhere'.... it was then that he realized that while a picture is worth a thousand words, an image cast with one's own eyes was worth a million.

Ray's squeal of sheer delight brought him out of his reverie and a small smile adorned his lips to appease the growing boy of ten years. He had missed out on a few precious years of his son's life, all because of her. No, that was a lie. It was his fault, and he knew it. But then, knowing and admitting are two entirely different things, accepting not even being considered as part of the equation. Ray scrambled to gather his gifts and usher them to his room as Ames White began to gather the mess of wrapping paper on the floor of their tiny apartment. He absentmindedly cleaned up, thinking to himself and wondering how it had come this far. The moment he had seen 452 in the cage, he was lost. He knew then, that she would become his obsession, but he could never have guessed which way that would turn.

It seemed so long ago, when he had given up the conclave entirely and moved into Terminal City. Given up everything for his son, and for her though he doubted that she knew she had been considered in his decision making; he hadn't even realized he'd considered her till after he was moved in. His house had been sold, his job lost, his reputation with conclave tarnished, his bank account emptied by his superiors. When he had been hunting her, it had been easy to convince him self that it was for his son, for revenge, for the good of the conclave, but that was a lie. He did it because she belonged to him, whether she knew it or not, and she was his for the taking. He never said this aloud, he barely dared allow himself to think it, but he was afraid what the conclave Reader's would think if they Read him, what they would do.

So, with a conviction he had never felt before, he worked into changing his thoughts, convincing himself that the only reason he wanted to possess her was for malevolent reasons. He worked hard, terribly and ridiculously hard, to continue to be the one hunting her, so that no one else would possess her. He made it look good, like he was actually trying to follow the Conclaves orders, because he knew that no other member of the conclave would be so generous. They would kill her the moment she angered them, orders or no orders, and Ames simply couldn't allow that. He kept up the charade as long as he could, and when he knew the Conclave had grown tired of dealing with his 'failures', he officially changed sides.

He gave the transgenics 100% accurate information concerning Conclave officials, who they had in the White House and FBI and various other organizations. He gave them locations of major bases, names of suppliers, all that an enemy could hope for in a war. So many wanted him dead...he couldn't blame them, really, not after how many he'd captured and tortured and killed as a part of his great mission. To his never ending surprise, he had champions, two of them as a matter of fact. 452 her self came to his defense and with her came 494. He'd often sneered at them, laughed at their die-hard stubborn ways, but they were what saved his life. Even as thousands called for his death, they stood their ground. And, as was inevitable, when someone challenged 452 for the right to kill him, she had taken the challenge with a smile and a roundhouse kick.

He wasn't the only one to challenge her, or 494 for that matter, but they never lost. Not once, did they ever get put down. He snorted suddenly, realizing that his mind had taken turns between calling her by her barcode and her name. 494 was still 494, but that was for different reasons all together. Ray had come out of his room, dressed and looking pleadingly into his father's eyes. Ames grimaced slightly before sighing; what his son wanted, he got. "Give me 10 minutes to get ready, Ray." Ray grinned ecstatically and went back into his room to play with his toys. Ames rubbed the back of his neck and groaned before getting dressed.

His son, once returned to him upon Max's orders, took quite a liking to everyone in the city. He played with transgenic children (much to his fathers chagrin) and, quite literally, attached himself to Max's hip. He utterly adored her, in ways that somewhat unnerved his father. What was more unnerving was the fact that Max didn't seem all that bothered by it, at all. In fact, to Ames' shock and concern, people were often asking her where her son was. The fact that they assumed as much hadn't really caused the shock (Ray did spend a large amount of time with her, after all) but when she hadn't corrected them, that had made him do a double take.

Ray was ready to go now, staring at his father expectantly and with an air of impatience about him. Ames teasingly tied his shoe laces slowly, watching his boy bounce from foot to foot impatiently. He laughed a little then, unable to keep back the chuckle, and Ray automatically shoved him a little loudly, proclaiming that his father was doing it on purpose and if he was going to be so slow, he would leave without him. Ames hurried up then, barely catching the door as his son strode out, marching down the hallway with all the determination a 10 year old could muster.

Ames chuckled and caught up to his son easily before assuming a stern mask, trying to match the one his son wore. He followed his son through the wreckage, which was starting to become over grown with trees and flowers that hadn't grown in a long time. A while back, some transgenics had proposed the formation of a research department, seeking the best way to rid the area of the toxins that had long since seeped into the air and ground. Their most recent idea had been to do it naturally, using trees and the like to free the toxins from the ground. Surprisingly, it had begun to work. There were even some areas in the city where fresh crops could be grown, which had pleased Max to no end.

The very idea that her people had come up with a way to be somewhat self-sufficient had made kittens and rainbows happy for a long time. Well, that's the way Ray referred to it; the time when Max's world had comprised solely of kittens and rainbows and sunshine. He snorted then, recalling that it really hadn't lasted very long once all the crops were harvested, but there was still a glow about her when she walked by that area. Humans could stay at lengths within Terminal City now, and a few had taken up permanent residence near the places that toxin-free oxygen had become prevalent. 3 of Max's closest friends had automatically taken up residence, with her former boss not far behind.

They drew nearer to their destination and Ray, with a sparkle in his eye and a large grin on his face, bounded ahead to the warmly lit apartment. He paused outside, watching his son bound up the stairs and bang on the door. It opened, the bright light of the dining room chandelier beaming behind a small silhouette. He saw Ray temporarily shield his eyes before doing a standing high jump into the silhouette's arms, nearly knocking her over. It didn't take but a moment for Ames to recognize who it was that Ray was cuddling up to. He turned and sat down on a bench facing the park. He smiled for a moment, contemplating the fact that he was even sitting there, in the middle of Terminal City, while his son was inside an apartment filled with transgenic, cuddling up to the feisty and fearless leader herself.

It had begun to snow then, wet snowflakes dusting the ground and the city as a whole. He sat there smiling, watching the stars that were invisible to the human eye. He heard the apartment door open, but didn't turn around. He wasn't much in the mood for company. He could hear them talking, the four of them: Max, Cindy, Mole, and 494. Mole sounded well and properly drunk, 494 apparently having doused his eggnog with something stronger than shot. He could hear Mole offering them all a cigar, his most prized possession, and heard them laugh and decline, knowing that he would be furious in the morning if so much as one cigar was missing. He heard Cindy comment on mans inability to hold his liquor, to which 494 asked about her philosophy that men and women were equal.

Her voice rose above the noise of the party "Fool, now when have I ever said that? Anyone who thinks that men are the equal to women has never seen a man try to wrap a Christmas present." Ames choked back a laugh, trying not to alert the keen X generation ears that he was listening to their conversation. He realized then, with the snow coming down on him in droves, that he had grown rather fond of those who he had wanted so desperately to exterminate in the past, both human and transgenic. He heard 494 chuckle at something Max had whispered to him, and felt his jaw lock. He probably would have grown fond of 494 too, were it not for the fact that Ames had come to consider him as a rival instead of a friend.

Max had become his obsession from day one, and obsession toed the line about as often as friendship did. The fact that 494 hung around her all day drove him crazy at times, but was tempered by the fact that 494 was her second in command: he _had_ to be around her constantly. Ames mulled this over as the snow continued to pile up on him and was very deep in thought about his next course of action, so deep in thought that he didn't hear her come up behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he reacted suddenly, grabbing her arm and flipping her to the ground in front of him, pinning her to the floor. She hardly struggled, seeming to realize that it was second nature and not intentional. He was breathing hard, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He raised an eyebrow at her when she stopped struggling, watching her watch him. She was a stark contrast to the snow around her, something unearthly beautiful. Her dark hair splayed around her head as she lay in the snow, she filled the shape that snow angels often made. He gave her a wicked grin before letting her up and pulling her to her feet. "Sorry about that," his whiskey soaked voice came out as a purr. "Old habits die hard."

She nodded to him, somewhat dazed. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing!"

He looked at the sky, which was still happily dumping snow on him, and shrugged. "It's not too terrible."

She huffed at him and ducked under his coat, snuggling into him. He froze for a moment, not daring to ask what she was doing.

She peered out of the overly large coat and watched the snow fall and wrinkled her nose. "I hate the snow and the cold. Rain I don't mind so much, its Seattle after all, but not snow..."

He chuckled slightly, smirking. "Kitty doesn't like the water?"

She elbowed him in the gut. "Kitty doesn't like the _frozen_ water." They were silent for a moment, and he was silently reveling in her warmth. She looked up at him then, frowning. "It's Christmas Eve. Why are you out here anyway? You should be inside with Ray, laughing at Alec and Mole as Cindy gives them each a good smack down."

His voice is soft, almost indiscernible. "I don't belong in there, with them. I'm unwelcome."

She frowned. "No, you're not."

He snorted. "Max, I am tolerated because I was useful not because I'm wanted."

Max turned to face him. "I don't think that's true, Ames. And even if it was, you seem to think I'm giving them an option!" She put a fist on her hip and his mouth quirked upward into a smirk. "Now, come inside and warm up. You're about to give Frost a run for his money, and Ray wants you there."

He shook his head and sighed, knowing that he was hardly welcome. He heard an annoyed huff and found Max coming back and grabbing his hand, leading him up the stairs. He bit his lip for a moment, a small bit of boyish humor coming out. He couldn't help being serious and melancholy the majority of the time, he really didn't have a lot to smile about if you thought about it, but occasionally a little bit of boyish mischief came and took over and hinted to who Ames White was underneath the tough exterior and melancholy past, to who he could have been all the time if he hadn't been initiated into the Conclave.

With a small smirk, he stopped suddenly, digging his heels into the ground. Max jerked backwards, nearly falling when she turned around to see what the hold up was. She raised an eyebrow as he stood there, head cocked to the side with mischief in his eyes. He shrugged his shoulders innocently and proffered his hand to her. She took it slowly, turning to walk up the stairs and found herself unable to move forward. She looked at him and this time he was unable to contain the grin from his face. She tugged and pulled trying to get him to come with her but he had a good 80 pounds on her and his feet were braced against her pulling. She glared at him and let go of his hand, determined to walk away in a huff, but she was unmoving. He had a tight clasp on her wrist.

She turned to face him, trying to glower but failing miserably as a small smile began to take over her face. She yanked and tugged as hard as she could, but he had a death grip on her wrist. She yelped slightly and growled "Let go!" as she tugged, trying to free herself. He raised an eyebrow and said "As you wish," Before letting her go. She flew backwards into a snow bank and flailed for a moment before sitting up, covered in snow. He roared with laughter, unable to contain it anymore. She growled ferociously and launched herself out of the snow and tackled him to the ground. It was all over from there. They rolled in the snow, throwing snowballs at one another for over an hour before someone came to check on them. Alec leaned out over the railing to see what was going on. He knew that Max had remained outside to go and speak with White, to try and get him to come inside. Instead, it looked Max had just won herself a snow war.

He heard the roaring laughter and could scarcely believe his eyes as he saw Ames White, solemn familiar extraordinaire, laughing so hard that he fell over. Max quickly joined him on the ground after a misguided attempt to skate on the icy ground without skates. He smiled to himself for a moment before wandering back inside, taking off his gloves and jacket. A little competition was healthy, after all. Eventually the two wandered inside, both soaked to the bone. It was impossible for Ames to stop smiling the rest of the night, which made everyone else a little more comfortable. As was tradition in TC, everyone gathered in a circle around their lone pine tree, which had been decorated in a different manner of ways, and sang 'Silent Night'.

It was awkward, and ironic, but nobody cared about that. They were together, they were safe, and they were happy. It was decided that they enjoy the moment while it lasted, because it escaped no ones notice that Max was wedged between Alec and Ames, and that neither were interested in letting go of her respective hands. _They_ were both dropped, however, when Ray came running over to be held. Alec had stood next to her and held her hand as they each gave speeches as the leaders of TC. Ames snorted for a moment, recognizing the fact that Alec had a gloating look in his eye. He shook his head and smirked, looking pointedly at Max, who was cuddling with Ray on a bench. Alec looked back towards White with an eyebrow raised. White cocked his head to the side, a smirk adorning his face. The message was perfectly clear. 'You may share power and past with her, but she is my son's mother and we share her future.'

Alec smirked in return and relayed one final message, which was mouthed to him in the crowd; "Bring it."


End file.
